Basketball

Team USA selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti is addressing the outrage over leaving Caitlin Clark off the Olympics roster ... saying it simply came down to putting together the best possible squad -- not the most popular.

Many considered the 2024 WNBA No. 1 overall pick's omission from competing in Paris a snub ... or at least called it a bad move, as Clark's presence in the sport has attracted a ton of new fans who could tune in to the Summer Games to watch the superstar in action.

Rizzotti defended the team on Tuesday ... and specifically spoke about Clark.

22-year-old Michael Jordan broke his foot in 1985 -- the most significant injury of MJ's career -- and now His Airness' Js from the fateful game are on the auction block!

Jordan's Chicago Bulls faced the Golden State Warriors on October 29, 1985 -- just three games into his second season as a pro -- when Michael, wearing the black and red Nike Air Jordan 1s, fractured the navicular bone in his right foot during the first half.

MJ left having played just 18 minutes, scoring 12 points. Chi-town won, 111-105, but lost their rising superstar.

Charles Barkley gave an unfiltered interview during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday ... accidentally letting an F-bomb slip on live TV.

It all went down during the second-period intermission of the Oilers vs. Panthers matchup ... when Kyle Bukauskas of SportsNet asked the 11-time All-Star for his thoughts on the series so far.

Barkley was in the middle of praising Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky ... when all of a sudden, he slipped up and dropped the expletive.

LeBron James is in good spirits despite missing out on a championship this season ... FaceTiming in to Kai Cenat's stream and cracking jokes about not being in the NBA Finals!!

The hilarious cameo appearance went down as Cenat chopped it up with guests Kevin Hart and Druski on Monday ... when the movie star decided to hit up the Lakers hooper while hundreds of thousands of viewers followed along.

The four-time champ casually dropped the N-word as he greeted the trio ... which caught Druski and Cenat off-guard.

The critique of Caitlin Clark by her WNBA peers continued on Monday night ... when a Sun player was so pissed over the way the rookie appeared to embellish a foul call -- she actually mocked her right on the court.

The moment happened during the Fever's game against Connecticut at Mohegan Sun Arena ... when in the second quarter of the tilt, DiJonai Carrington nudged a driving Clark, and was whistled for a foul.

Carrington clearly believed the Indiana guard flopped to get the call ... so she taunted her. She threw her head and neck back to imitate the exaggerated motions that Clark made on the play -- which seemed to tick off the former Iowa superstar.

Khloe Kardashian went out to grab a bite with her ex, Tristan Thompson this weekend -- without any kids around -- and while some might've thought the spark was back ... it ain't.

KK and Tristan were photographed walking out of Nobu Malibu Sunday -- where they were clearly dining together ... even though they appeared to stagger their exits, and ended up leaving in separate cars.

There were lots of other people with them, but none of their children -- which raised alarms among some who thought they were back together ... but we're told that's just not the case.

Spencer Dinwiddie is suing a famous car shop in Los Angeles ... claiming the company botched a deal involving a Ferrari and a rare Mustang so badly, it's caused him quite the headache.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, the NBA star says he first got into biz with Wires Only -- a custom automotive co. that's helped trick out cars for celebs like Bad Bunny, Kim Kardashian and Travis Barker -- back in November 2022 ... when he bought a 1976 Mustang Shelby for $699,000.

Dinwiddie said trouble with the org., though, began a few months later ... when he wanted to purchase a 2022 Ferrari SF90 from the shop's showroom.

Bill Maher believes Caitlin Clark is being targeted by some of her WNBA peers because she's straight and white.

The TV host discussed the Indiana Fever star and her recent in-game altercation with Chennedy Carter on last week's episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher" ... and he made it clear, he thinks CC's sexuality and race did have roles in the incident.

Maher said WNBA players "f***ing hate" the rookie ... and when he later expounded on why -- he said, "it's everything," including her skin color and her sexual preferences.

The Caitlin Clark racism narrative is largely fake news ... so says Dan Dakich who tells us the hate towards the number one overall pick is pure jealousy!

Clark's been gettin' beat up since her WNBA debut last month -- we all saw what Chennedy Carter did to the Fever superstar last weekend -- so we asked Dakich, a former Indiana Hoosier player and coach, if it's just basketball ... or something else.

"Of course, she's being targeted," Dakich, host of Outkick's "Don't @ Me" told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (prior to the Olympic team snub).

Caitlin Clark's addressing the snub heard round the world ... getting candid about missing out on the Olympics after she was shockingly left off the roster.

The first-round pick addressed all the hubbub Sunday ... and, she says she's totally cool with the choice -- expressing her excitement for the players who did make the team.

Clark said, in part, "I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could’ve gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team. I’m excited for them, gonna be rooting them on to win gold."

Magic Johnson tells TMZ Sports he's loving what he's seeing from Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese so far in the WNBA ... praising the rookies for how they're transitioning to the pros.

We spoke briefly with the NBA legend out in L.A. this week as he was getting hounded by autograph seekers ... and he made it clear, he's a big fan of the W's newest stars.

He said emphatically they're "doing great things" -- helping their league explode in popularity.

Gilbert Arenas and Laura Govan's son, Alijah, is one of the top young hoopers in the country ... and his mama tells TMZ Sports he's so good for his age, he's already beating his ex-NBA star dad in one-on-one!!

We caught up with Govan at LAX to talk all about her talented kid ... and she couldn't say enough good things about the Class of 2026 guard -- both on and off the court.

In reality, she says no amount of basketball highlights compare to the kind of person Alijah is ... and she doesn't shy away from patting herself on the back for doing a great job raising him.

Caitlin Clark will not be a part of the Team USA squad that goes for a record 8th-straight gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris, and basketball fans are puzzled by the move!

According to multiple reports, 22-year-old Clark, the most famous female hooper in the world, was not named to the 12-player squad ... which will represent America in France next month.

An official announcement has not yet been made, but the team is made up of a mix of veterans and first-time Olympians. But, no Clark.

The 2024 NBA Finals are underway ... which means it's time to showcase the lovely ladies supporting the men on the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks!!

Over in Beantown, Al Horford's former Miss Universe wife, Amelia, has been holdin' it down on and off the court ... and has been prominently featured at games with the kids -- all decked out in No. 42 jerseys.

Xavier Tillman's wife, Tamia, will be experiencing her first NBA Finals with her hubby ... and it's been quite the turnaround after he was acquired in a trade with Memphis earlier this year.

The guy behind the viral 'Crazy' trend on TikTok is reaping a ton of benefits after setting the internet on fire with the latest frenzy -- and he's already got a gig out of it ... with the WNBA.

We talked to Stephen Glickman -- who's already famous from the "Big Time Rush" show -- on "The TMZ Podcast," where he discussed his now-viral TikTok sound ... in which he does a slow, dramatic rendition of Gnarls Barkley's 2006 hit, "Crazy." Tons of stars have hopped on the trend -- lip-syncing to his track and sharing something cringe-worthy from their past.

There's nothing cringey about Stephen's success, however ... 'cause he says he's set to perform a WNBA halftime show soon. SG tells us he and his band are gonna fly out to Las Vegas ... where he will perform for the sold-out crowd at the Aces vs. Minnesota Lynx game.

Celtics fans did the most to show Kyrie Irving he's not welcome in Boston, bringing a blow-up doll with the NBA star's face on it to Game 1 of the NBA Finals ... and stomped it out after they won.

The blowup doll was spotted on the Beantown streets on Thursday ahead of the first game of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

The doll's dressed in KI's number 11 Celtics jersey (his old threads) ... with a cut out of Ky's face. At one point, fans chanted "F*** Kyrie!" using a loudspeaker.